A San Francisco Techno Excursion….

San Francisco, CA

Anne and I recently made a trip down to San Francisco to get a change of scenery and a taste of something different in terms of techno. While there are many similiarities between Seattle and SF, the liberal culture, mild climate, an endless amount of weirdos walking around, the vibe from the two party scenes is quite different. It’s like holding a magnifying glass over the Seattle scene, injecting it with a healthy dose of international headliners, and topping it off with a large swath of enthusiastic patrons and various locales to do your thing in. Not that Seattle doesn’t enjoy these things, it’s just not on the same scale as SF.

We went to the infamous “Endup” on Saturday for “The Show,” a 14 hour affair with Alex Kidd (Cadenza) as the headliner. I’d always wanted to go to the club and was really impressed with the overall layout of the place, not too big but with more than enough room to pack em in there if you wanted to, given the sizable outdoor area. We got there around 11 to catch Clint Stewart and Mossmoss open it up, both solid DJs and producers, keeping the torch burning bright for techno in the Bay on notable labels like Nightlight and Auralism.

The place was sparsely filled with just the heads milling about resulting in a great conversation with Auralism label head Marc Smith who filled me in on the many ins and outs of the SF scene. The place got packed quick and by the last hour of Clint and Moss’s set the dancefloor was brimming and gyrating spastically. Alex Kidd played a solid set of your standard modern techno-house grooves with a splash of some real mind benders, the already warmed up rig sounding phenomenal by this point. By 3:30am it was time to hit the road as I wanted to be fresh for the Dirtybird in the Park party at Golden Gate the next day.

I’d always heard of these parties and was really excited to finally see what they were all about. I’ve never been such a fan of the Dirtybird label, with the exception of a few tracks, and I can’t say I’ve been converted or anything, but this party was a total blast. Tucked away at the very back of the park and nestled atop a sizable, although not huge, chunk of land, we got there early and watched the place fill up rapidly. The weather was perfect. About 70 with a mild breeze and nothing but sun!

Dirtybird Party in the Park

I was picturing something akin to the Golden Gardens parties that go on in Seattle, about 400 or so people, I was a little off. This thing got well over a thousand people by my estimate, with the place a total madhouse at the peak of it all. The whole Dirtybird roster was involved and they kept the crowd going strong all afternoon. This was definitely a Tecate filled afternoon and I had quite a few tucked away by the time we left but this turned out to be a great experience, good music, met a bunch of nice people, and got to soak up some much needed rays in my Seattle-conditioned, sun-starved body. I would go to one of these parties again in a second.

From this point it was back to the hotel for a nap. Thankfully, I set my alarm otherwise, I fear we would have slept the entire night through. Which would have been unfortunate considering we had some serious business to attend to, more specifically, John Tejada at 222 Hyde compliments of Bionic. This is one of the dopest clubs I’ve been to and you could tell these guys “got it” right away.

I’ve been watching, from afar, all of these big names come through there, Pan-Pot, Trus’ Me, Marcin Czubala, and was expecting a club that would accommodate a large number of people. I was pleasantly surprised to find one of the smallest, most intimate clubs I’ve ever been in, not to mention a TOP NOTCH four corner Turbosound rig and a DJ booth that blows anything in most clubs out of the water. A friendly door man welcomes you into a narrow and dimly lit, long bar which leads you down a small set of stairs into a small black box no bigger than a studio apt, a half disco ball in the corner, that’s it.

222 Hyde

This place revived the epitome of techno for me and brings to mind one of my favorite summations of the genre, SMALL DARK LOUD and HOT, a perfect tag line for what you can expect at the club on a good night. Nikola Baytala and Solar got that place warmed up beautifully and proceeded to hand it over to Tejada who played deeper and housier than I was expecting, but pulled it off with the veteran panache he is known for. Did I mention this was a Sunday? and that the place was totally packed out and throbbing like the apex of a Friday night? Ah SF you are really tempting me with your seductive ways.

From here it was off to an intimate afterhours affair at a loft in the Mission. We felt very welcome by our hosts and hung out for a while, decompressing from what had been a long and indulgent day. Monday was our last day in the city and was spent wandering the streets, fantasizing about all the things the city has to offer. By the time we made it back I had that disorienting yet welcome feeling of having my body in Seattle but my brain and heart stuck squarely in SF.

This was my second trip to the City by the Bay and was a great time, one of the better trips I’ve had in general. Thanks to all the wonderful cats we met down there who took us around, showed us what’s up, and just in general, refreshed my faith in the goodness of humanity. The days are being counted until we relocate south and join you.

Plastikman @ DEMF…

Back when I first started partying in Detroit no techno resume was complete without having a “Richie Party” under your belt. This was back in the day before his move to Berlin and the new incarnation was born, more hair, less glasses, some would say, shittier music. I was too young to experience the early shows, circa ’90-96, the parties that built his reputation and have reached legend status in Detroit and beyond, but I was fortunate enough to attend the last wave of his own parties in Detroit, the “Control” series. Everyone of these parties were radically intense. Control 1, thrown at City Club in 2001, was my first introduction to Richie and will go down in my memory banks as one of the best events I’ve ever attended.

The event was housed in what was basically a large black box laced with minimal lighting and a four corner sound rig that would make your heart skip a beat. Magda had just finished her warm up set, four can lights hitting the giant disco ball at the top of the towering ceiling, sending a dizzying array of lights across the packed room. Hawtin came on at 2 am and played a robotic loop of, “We will control every thing you see and hear…We will control everything you see and hear…” With the anticipation building, he slammed into a raging old school techno track, the kind of shit that would wake you from the dead, and simultaneously kicked on blue lighting and a fog machine until it was so thick you couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face. People started to lose it, lighting their lighters to try and get some sense of orientation.

Hawtin didn’t let up a bit, and decided instead to go for the strobes. At this point the place was a madhouse, the room changing between blue and black, the patrons spastically frozen in time by the manic assualt of strobes. It was borderline chaos and was the beginning of one of the most memorable parties I’ve been too. From this point on, it was Hawtin aka the robot, stoically playing an 8-9 hour set of minimal to face-punching techno without so much as a head bob or a bathroom break, finally ending with Hawtin at the door giving all of the “survivors” a copy of his new cd on the way out.

I summarize one of my more memorable Hawtin experiences to preface what has been quite the reversal of this trend. With the move to Berlin came a different sound, a different look, all of a sudden Hawtin was more European than Midwest. Detroit no longer got the epic parties they once did and instead Richie spent his time overseas garnering more accolades. I can’t really say that I blame him as it seemed like a logical progression to bigger and better things, but he seemed to lose that thing which once had made him not just great, but the epitome of it all.

Instead of 10 hour sets in a warehouse, it was now superclubs in Europe with no turntables. The local population of Detroit could no longer relate to this artist who had done so much to define what the true rave experience was all about. Nowhere that I’ve ever been, has Hawtin had such intense criticism attached to him. Perusing the local EDM boards in Detroit will see him getting torn to shreds, but still with a subtle undertone of yearning for days gone by. Obviously, I’m generalizing a bit here but from my perspective, in both listening to his newer sets and the subsequent performances I’ve seen in person, this is obviously not the Richie from the days of yore.

This whole discussion about “Old Richie vs New” is very tired and one that I am ready to put to bed, but at the same time, is quite relevant considering how much speculation and anticipation there is surrounding his headlining Plastikman set at this year’s Detroit Electronic Music Festival. Everyone that I’ve talked to has something to say about it and has definitely been a buzz amongst my circle.

I’ve never experienced an actual Plastikman set so I can’t say I’m any kind of expert here. There are some nay-sayers who expect something on the caliber of his Mutek performance a couple of years ago, largely considered a failure. There are still others who say it is pointless to catch a 2 hour Plastikman set at a big festival because it is a mere watered down version of the crazy 14 hour abandoned warehouse endeavours where the whole thing was concieved.

I was as skeptical as any until a video popped up of his Timewarp set just recently. I only watched one video as I don’t want to spoil it for myself but it looked pretty promising, Acidy but not too over the top, a classic feel yet still really intense, even the Detroit boards that I check out seem to be thinking this might be more than just a mega-mix of early material. So I invite you to check out the video and see for yourself, either way Im sure that this year’s DEMF will be a great experience and I’m really interested to see the madness that the main stage has to offer during his set, see ya there!!

The Automatic Message comes to Seattle…

The Automatic Message

On Friday, March 26th Vancouver, B.C. based, The Automatic Message (Trevor Jacobson (techno producer) and Tanya Goehring (photographer/non-linear filmmaker)) will be performing at Sweatbox’s fourth Friday monthly at ETG. This is a techno duo that have recently come on to my radar thanks to the fine folks over at Seattle based, From 0-1 Records. The label did a showcase at the infamous Photosynthesis Festival last summer, a heady Friday night affair that explored the vast spectrum of techno music, with The Automatic Message playing a standout performance.

I was really impressed with the unique balance they struck between raw intensity and minimal techno. Their sound is stripped down, focusing on the bare essentials of the track with every nuance and detail of the soundscape shaped and honed for optimal listening pleasure,yet they still maintain this overarching theme of driving darkness and pure weird, the kind of stuff that propels one from the outskirts of the dancefloor, to dead center.

Their performance is larger than your typical live set though, incorporating a full on visual assault of their own creation, T.A.M. provides an aural and visual experience of immense proportions, leaving the average patron not quite sure of what just happened but certain they want to do it again. I sat down and talked with the group so they can tell you in more detail what the show is all about and what you can expect in the near future from this very promising live act that is only just beginning, what is sure to be, a healthy and mindfuck inducing career.

Ctrl_Alt_Dlt: How long have you guys been performing and how would you describe your performance?

The Automatic Message: We’ve been performing together for about three years. Our performances often tend to the more arty side of techno and its visual equivalent.  We consider the visual just as important as the audio and strive to reinterpret the one through the other.  As a photographer, Tanya is more interested in experimenting with real footage (most of which she films herself) than in creating computer-generated visuals.  With both the audio and the visual, we wish to bring abstractions of life into the performance.

C_A_D: How did you guys get hooked up with From 0-1?

T.A.M: Like a lot of other producers and labels, we met Justin and Brian on Soundcloud. Justin asked us to submit a track for their compilation “The Black White Vol 2”. We ended up submitting our track “Moving Walkway” because we felt like it really worked with the label’s aesthetic. We were playing a show in Portland and decided to stop at their house in Seattle on the way home. We’ve been good friends with everyone we’ve met on the label ever since.  We’ve so far collaborated with Justin (Milkplant) and remixed both Sone and Kynd on separate projects. Both Tanya and I feel quite proud to be part of the label, we feel we’re in good company.

C_A_D: What’s the scene like up in Vancouver?

T.A.M: I’ve been going to parties in Vancouver for more than half my life and it will always be a great place to hear house music, but if you want some decent techno I would go elsewhere, like Seattle. As with the general art scene here in Vancouver, the techno scene is quite disparate. Promoters seem to only bring in big names we’ve all seen before, probably cause it’s a sure thing. To be honest we don’t really go out here anymore – for the last two years we’ve just locked ourselves up in the studio  🙂  Literally.

C_A_D: What’s coming up in the near future for The Automatic Message?

T.A.M: We have a lot of projects on the go at the moment: a few collaborations, some remixes, and a vinyl release.  We’ve been collaborating with Milkplant, Kynd,  and Tomas Jirku.  I did a remix with a good friend of mine, John Tennant, with whom I share a studio here in Vancouver, of a JGarrett track.  The track will  be coming out on the German label Super 6, under our project name “Nangs” (don’t ask).  As The Automatic Message, Tanya and I did a remix of experimental Zurich producer MRZ (http://www.moritzwettstein.com) that will be coming out on the Unoiki label (http://www.unoiki.net/).  Just last week we found out that we were winners in a remix contest for Pheek’s track “Retrouvailles” on the Setalabel through www.foem.info. The EP will be released in the next few months and will also feature remixes by Dr.Nojoke, Heron and Damir Pushkar.  But we’re most exited about two upcoming From 0-1 releases that will be pressed on vinyl. One will be originals and the next will be remixes. The first 12″ will feature artists: Let’s Go Outside and Bryan Zentz, Dj Sodeyama, Milkplant and Sone. We’ll be doing a remix on the second 12″ vinyl which will be due out Winter 2011.

This is one of the regional acts that we’ve really wanted to book and on Friday night @ Electric Tea Garden, it’s gonna happen. Rounding out the bill is a good friend and up and comer in the Detroit scene, Matt Yurek. Impeccable taste and skills on the decks are what he has to offer, really stoked to see what he’s got in store. Jonny Romero and I opening it up, hope you can make it.

“It’s Getting Weird in Here” Friday March 26th

The Automatic Message (From 0-1, Moniseur Musique) Vancouver

Matt Yurek (Red Channel) Detroit

Jonny Romero and Ctrl_Alt_Dlt (Sweatbox) Seattle

Electric Tea Garden 1402 E. Pike Street

7 before 12am 10 after. 21+ Starts @ 10

More info about “It’s Getting Weird in Here”

Chris (Ctrl_Alt_Dlt)

ps. Sweatbox two year anniversary April 23rd.

Love Unit Recap and Plasmodium….

A big thanks to Rex and Kenneth for playing great sets and to all the folks that came out to Love Unit on Sat. (2-27) Rex Sepulveda played a solid two hour set that covered a range of nuance, from big room, chugging techno all the way down to the groovier  minimal end; the genre was pretty much covered and a perfect way to get that party going.

[a]pendics.shuffle came on to a packed house and proceeded to play just the kind of music you wanna hear at three in the morning, dark, minimal, and weird. His performance was enthusiastic to say the least and proved to be one of the more enjoyable sets I’ve heard from him. It was also really nice to hear such a solid performance at a late hour and in an intimate venue. I’ve always felt that this was the recipe for taking any event from just a good time to pure maddness and precisely why I love the Electric Tea Garden so much. Seattle definitely needs more late night venues, but that’s a topic for another blog post. [a]pendics.shuffle kept a solid crowd till the wee hours and ended with a Rolling Stones track, calling his set interesting would be putting it mildly.

Which brings us to the next part of this entry and more specifically, where you can hear [a]pendics,shuffle’s live set. Seattle based Plasmodium Radio, run by local DJ/Promoter Kristina Childs, was on hand to record the night and gracious enough to host it on air. Plasmodium has a wealth of sets from regional and national artists hosted on the site and is something to keep your eye on if you want to hear some quality tunes.

Hear [a]pendics.shuffle live @ Love Unit here

Check out Plasmodium Radio here

Up next: “It’s Getting Weird in Here” March 26th…

As always, thanks for reading.

Chris (Ctrl_Alt_Dlt)

Jonny Romero and the Dead of February….

Jonny Romero

As many of you know Jonny Romero is my partner in crime for all things Sweatbox. What you might not know is that he just dropped a seriously hot new mix entitled, “Dead of February,” the first in over a year and by all measures, well worth the wait. This is one of those rare mixes that is steeped in emotion and sensuality. This is not peak time, melt your face off type stuff (which we all know he is well versed in) but rather a trip into the outer reaches of house music, an exploration of what truly resonates, in it’s rawest form, with dance music enthusiasts.

I have been fortunate enough to learn from Jonny over the years and this mix is a distillation of that knowledge, a glimpse into his take on the depths of modern dance music. Curl up with a hot cup of tea and some good company and give this mix your full attention. The last track (René Breitbarth – Soul Time / Deep Data) is pure gold and the cherry on top of what is by far one of the best mixes I’ve heard from Jonny since we’ve been doing our thing. I felt it only appropriate to talk to the man himself so he could let you know what’s up in his world, so with no further ado, here’s Jonny…

1. Really digging the new mix, what was your overall intention with this and how does it differ from previous mixes we’ve heard from you.

JR: This particular mix was intended to be a mix for the winter of 2009/2010. The original idea was more akin to the first half of the mix as opposed to the second half. After some thought I realized that perhaps it would be too depressing and being an optimist, I decided that all winters come to an end, with spring just on the other side. With that in mind, I rearranged the mix to reflect that optimism in the second half.

Jonny Romero live @ Late Night Mass

2. Why such a long period between the release of this mix and previous ones.

JR: This mix was itching to be made. With my recent change of medium to digital from vinyl, I wanted to showcase some of my more recent tastes that I would have never indulged before. I can afford to buy far more music digitally than I was able to on vinyl, with that said, I now have a wider breadth of music at my fingertips and wanted to see what I could really do artistically that I was not able to with my prior analog collection. I should say that there is indeed some vinyl on this mix though.

3. Where do you see your sets going in the coming months / years?

JR: My sound has definitely gone more towards the deep side of things with the current changes in music (although this would be more of a return to my roots in music anyways) but more so than that, it has become more refined in taste and far more raw in sound. I feel more confident in my selections than I ever have before. I see myself only maturing in nature while still taking chances and being more adventurous in my music purchases.

4. What is your favorite track on this mix and why?

JR: The opening track (after the Intro) is by a group called The Gentle People. I first heard this track on a Danny Tenaglia mix from about 10 years ago. He actually opened his mix with it as well which was brilliant and I always wanted to try my hand at it as well. To me this is the most cozy type of music, something to really get the fire going. It is not the original with vocals but an instrumental with parts 1, 2 and 3 running at about 11 minutes long although I only used 7 minutes of material or so. The track is written at 110BPM but I sped it up to 115BPM for my needs. I believe I really got what I needed out of the track as it is a great warm up to what would be a very frigid mix for the next 30 minutes.

5. Why the name change from Pantycontrol to Jonny Romero?

JR: I really went with “Pantycontrol” as a joke and I think that joke ran for a little too long. Pretty soon when you tell a joke for too long or too many times it ceases to be funny anymore. My real name is Jonathan R. Herrera II but my real name does not have the “ring” that I wanted out of a performance name. Many people call me Jonny anyways so I decided that I would just couple it with my mother’s maiden name of Romero. So that is how Jonny Romero came about and I must say that it suits me far better than my prior name even though I still get the occasional female asking me to revive the Pantycontrol moniker. We’ll see…

6. What’s coming up in the world of Jonny Romero?

JR: Well, right now I’m sitting in an airport trying to get to NYC but to no avail. This trip was supposed to be a reconnaissance mission for my move to Brooklyn in May/June. The time I have spent in Seattle has been incredibly valuable. I basically cut my DJ teeth over the last 4 years here, from my weekly “SOFA” in Pioneer Square to my founding of Sweatbox with you (and everything that goes with that) to our showcases at Decibel Festival over the last 2 years. I feel a great energy coming out of Brooklyn right now, I know in my heart that I want to be part of it and I know that I also need to strike while the iron is hot!

Listen to “Dead of February” here.

So it appears Jonny’s got some big things on the horizon. I can only hope Brooklyn treats him as well as Seattle has and we see the rise and refinement of all the great things he’s started in this town. Enjoy the mix and thanks for reading!

Chris (Ctrl_Alt_Dlt)

Reflection and Anticipation….

A great man once said (I can’t for the life of me remember who) that humans rarely live in the present moment of reality but rather, spend most hours in either a state of reflection or anticipation. Well, in staying true to that statement it’s time for a little reflection and anticipation of my own, starting with a small re-cap of one of our most recent events, “Sweatbox presents: A Night w_ Kulturzene”…

This was a night destined for greatness as we booked two of the NW’s finest selectors to come and drop some heat for us, 31Avas and M.Quiet out of Portland, OR. I had personally only caught these guys once at a Broken Disco installment last year and was really impressed with their eclectic style and sophisticated take on techno and house, no frills, no filler, and no nonsense, definitely distinguishing themselves from your run of the mill DJs. “A Night w_ Kulturzene” was no exception.

The night started slow with only a few heads through the door before 1am, but like the flick of a lightswitch, once the clock struck 1:00am the place started filling up as 31avas hit the decks, and like a perpetually leaky faucet , the folks just kept streaming in, leaving a thick mass of bodies on the dancefloor. Ava’s set was on the tech-ier side of things with an edge of darkness, yet enough flair and funk to keep the ladies on the floor, a perfect blend to really get the party going.

M. Quiet was up next and took it DEEP. The place was a madhouse by this point, the energy so thick it was almost tangible. Playing a set that took in the gambit of refined house music, Matt whipped that place into a frenzy, leaving even the most stoic of patrons with hands raised skyward. Truly an amazing event and without a doubt one of our best yet. Thanks Matt and Ava and everyone who was able to make it down, a great way to start our new fourth friday event @ ETG.

Did I mention we have a new fourth friday monthly going at the Electric Tea Garden?? Well we do, although just to keep things good and confusing the next one will be on SATURDAY Feb. 27th with one of our biggest lineups to date. We will be teaming up with Condiment (DJ Shift and Murdoc) to bring you none other than [a]pendics.shuffle (LA) and Rex Sepulveda (Detroit).

Both of these artists are extremely accomplished and been in the game for awhile with releases out on some of the most prestigious in the industry. Mo’s Ferry, Resopal, Adjunct,([a]pendics.shuffle) Plus8, and D. Records (Rex) will all be represented on this night of pure techno mayhem. This is gonna be one of the most intense lineups to hit ETG since Decibel so please get there early so you don’t miss out.

Saturday Feb. 27th, 2010

Electric Tea Garden

1402 E. Pike St | Seattle, WA

21+ | $10 before midnight – $15 after | 10pm

And finally, one more note on an upcoming event. Sweatbox has teamed up with Uniting Souls, Innerflight, Live N Love, and Church of Bass to bring you Late Night Mass. The first two installments have been freakin nuts, with an overwhelming attendance from our burgeoning community, prepping this night to be one of the hottest monthly’s on the West Coast.

(A little taste of what the last one was all about)

Join us on Feb. 19th as we present: Mr. Rogers, J-Sun, Rhines, Ramiro, and Hendrik, for an all night dance party full of debauchery and good times. Located @ The Church of Bass 920 Elliot Ave. Seattle. See you then. Thanks for reading!

Chris (Ctrl_Alt_Dlt)

Welcome…

So after months and months of procrastination, I’ve finally got the ball rolling and started up a blog. Techno, parties, artists, tracks, and mixes will all be at the forefront but expect tangents and ruminations of varying degrees on all the wonderful things this world has to offer.

Feedback, for better or worse, is greatly appreciated as my overall goal for this project is to get some dialogue going about the things that have thus far only been discussed amongst friends or merely lodged in that bizarre nether-world between my ears. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Chris (Ctrl_Alt_Dlt)